Tuning the electrocatalytic activity of Pt nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes via surface functionalization

Polyelectrolytes with various characteristic functional groups as interlinkers to anchor Pt nanoparticles were used to functionalize carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as Pt electrocatalyst support. It was found that polyanions (poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS), and poly(acrylic acid sodium) (PAA)) have a beneficial effect on methanol electrooxidation on Pt nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes via modifying their electronic structure through charge transfer from polyanions to Pt sites and supply of oxygen-containing species. The increased electron density around Pt sites by the charge transfer from polyanions would cause partial filling of Pt 5d-bands, resulting in the downshift of d-band center and weaker chemisorption with oxygen-containing species (e.g. CO_ad). The weakened chemisorption of CO on Pt nanoparticles would promote the methanol electrooxidation. On the contrary, polycations would have an opposite effect on the electronic structure and chemisorption properties of Pt nanoparticles.     

Synthesis,crystal structures and photoluminescence of 7-(N,N′-diethylamino)-3-phenylcoumarin derivatives

Two new coumarin derivatives, 7-(N,N′-diethylamino)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-coumarin and 7-(N,N′-diethylamino)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-coumarin, were synthesized successfully. Their structures were verified by single crystal X-ray crystallography. The UV–vis absorption and fluorescence of the compounds were discussed. The compounds exhibit strong blue emission under ultraviolet light excitation. The molecular structures, the lowest energy transitions and the UV–vis spectra of 7-(N,N′-diethylamino)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-coumarin and 7-(N,N′-diethylamino)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-coumarin have been studied with density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) at B3LYP/6-31G(d) level.     

The immobilization of Cytochrome c on MWNT–PAMAM–Chit nanocomposite incorporated with DNA biocomposite film modified glassy carbon electrode for the determination of nitrite

A novel and sensitive biosensor was developed for the determination of nitrite. Firstly, multi-walled carbon nanotubes–poly(amidoamine)–chitosan (MWNT–PAMAM–Chit) nanocomposite along with the incorporation of DNA was used to modify the glassy carbon electrode. Then the immobilization of Cyt c was accomplished using electrochemical deposition method by consecutive cyclic voltammetry (CV) scanning in a neutral Cyt c solution. CV behaviors of the modified electrodes showed that the MWNT–PAMAM–Chit nanocomposite is a good platform for the immobilization of DNA and Cyt c in order, at the same time, an excellent promoter for the electron transfer between Cyt c and the electrode. At high potential, the immobilized Cyt c could be further oxidized into highly reactive Cyt c π-cation by two-step electrochemical oxidation, which could oxidize NO₂ ⁻ into NO₃ ⁻ in the solution. Therefore, a nitrite biosensor based on the biocatalytic oxidation of the immobilized Cyt c was fabricated, which showed a fast response to nitrite (less than 5 s). The linear range of 0.2–80 μM and a detection limit of 0.03 μM was obtained. Finally, the application in food analysis using sausage as testing samples was also investigated.     

Current Rectification in Temperature‐Responsive Single Nanopores

Herein we demonstrate a fully abiotic smart single‐nanopore device that rectifies ionic current in response to the temperature. The temperature‐responsive nanopore ionic rectifier can be switched between a rectifying state below 34 °C and a non‐rectifying state above 38 °C actuated by the phase transition of the poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) [PNIPAM] brushes. On the rectifying state, the rectifying efficiency can be enhanced by the dehydration of the attached PNIPAM brushes below the LCST. When the PNIPAM brushes have sufficiently collapsed, the nanopore switches to the non‐rectifying state. The concept of the temperature‐responsive current rectification in chemically‐modified nanopores paves a new way for controlling the preferential direction of the ion transport in nanofluidics by modulating the temperature, which has the potential to build novel nanomachines with smart fluidic communication functions for future lab‐on‐chip devices.     

A Poisson-based adaptive affinity propagation clustering for SAGE data

Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) is a powerful tool to obtain gene expression profiles. Clustering analysis is a valuable technique for analyzing SAGE data. In this paper, we propose an adaptive clustering method for SAGE data analysis, namely, PoissonAPS. The method incorporates a novel clustering algorithm, Affinity Propagation (AP). While AP algorithm has demonstrated good performance on many different data sets, it also faces several limitations. PoissonAPS overcomes the limitations of AP using the clustering validation measure as a cost function of merging and splitting, and as a result, it can automatically cluster SAGE data without user-specified parameters. We evaluated PoissonAPS and compared its performance with other methods on several real life SAGE datasets. The experimental results show that PoissonAPS can produce meaningful and interpretable clusters for SAGE data.     

Phenylcarbamoylated β‐CD: π‐Acidic and π‐basic chiral selectors for HPLC

Two types of chiral stationary phases for HPLC based on π‐acidic or π‐basic perphenylcarbamoylated β‐CDs were synthesized. The relative structural features of the two effective chiral selectors are discussed and compared in both normal‐phase and RP modes. In addition, the nature and concentration of alcoholic modifiers were varied for optimal separation in normal phase and the structural variation of the analytes was also examined. The results showed that hydrogen bonding, steric effect and π‐acidic–π‐basic interaction contributed greatly to enantioseparation. Upon comparison, some of the differences in the separation behavior of the two types of chiral stationary phases might be due to the π‐acidic or π‐basic phenylcarbamate groups.     

Syntheses, structural determination, and binding studies of nine-coordinate mononuclear complexes (EnH2)3[EuIII(Etha)]2 · 11H2O and (EnH2)[EuIII(Egta)(H2O)]2 · 6H2O

Two novel ethylenediaminium salt of europium complexes with aminopolycarboxylic acid ligands, (EnH₂)₃[Eu^III(Ttha)]₂ · 11H₂O (I) (En is ethylenediamine, H₆Ttha is triethylenetetramine-N,N,N′,N″,N‴,N‴-hexaacetic acid) and (EnH₂)[Eu^III(Egta)(H₂O)]₂ · 6H₂O (II) (H₄Egta is ethyleneglycol-bis(2-aminoethylether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid) complexes were synthesized, and their crystal structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. Both of the two complexes adopt nine-coordinate structures with the pseudo-monocapped square antiprism and crystallize in the monoclinic crystal system with the P2₁/n space group. The crystal data for complex I are as follows: a = 17.8262(8), b = 19.3137(5), c = 20.6233(8) ?, β = 111.301(2)°, V = 6615.3(4) ?³, Z = 8, ρ _c = 1.677 mg/m³, μ = 1.981 mm⁻¹, F(000) = 3432, R = 0.0308, and wR = 0.0737 for 43622 observed reflections with I ≥ 2σ(I). The crystal data for complex II are as follows: a = 12.952(3), b = 12.618(2), c = 14.809(3) ?, β = 105.695(2)°, V = 2330.0(8) ?³, Z = 4, ρ _c = 1.800 mg/m³, μ = 2.765 mm⁻¹, F(000) = 1276, R = 0.0297, and wR = 0.0638 for 18416 observed reflections with I ≥ 2σ(I). One remarkable feature of the two complexes is that the protonated [EnH₂²⁺] cations conjugating to [Eu^III(Ttha)]₂⁶⁻ and [Eu^III(Egta)(H₂O)]₂²⁻ complex anions are reviewed, respectively, which open the path for the Eu^III complexes conjugating with other various biomolecules.